Archives for April 28, 2013

‘“Let’s be honest. I’m not stupid. I know I have a year left and they can probably deal me for prospects, young guys, whatever else is out there,” Vanek said. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. If it looks like it’s a long rebuild, then it probably makes sense for both parties to move on.”’

‘He desperately wants to win a Stanley Cup, but I don’t envision a parade committee assembling any time soon. The Sabres have made numerous mistakes but kept the man who made them. If you needed a reminder, they have missed the postseason two straight years, four times in six years and seven times in 11 years.’

‘“It’s only natural to hear things like that the way things have gone, especially this year,” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit I definitely need to turn things around, get back on that path to improving and working on the things that have made me successful. It’s just a matter of working that much harder this offseason.”’

‘“There’s definitely signs that there’s been a little bit of a shift in the plan, the long-term plan,” Miller said. “So we’ll see if that’s something (they take) a little bit further, I become just an asset they’re going to use. Ultimately, it’s not going to be up to me.”’

‘“I don’t think the weight is necessarily what’s going to get me more conditioning coming into the season,” Myers said. “I think it’s going to be a matter of just doing the program as hard as I can. Obviously, I don’t want to lose weight. But I don’t think it’s necessarily gaining too much. I want to make sure I don’t lose any quickness.’

‘The scale of audacity just doesn’t register any higher than it does in Buffalo, where after just a couple of seasons in which, by the way, the Sabres have failed to qualify for the playoffs, Terry Pegula has gone from the Peoples’ Owner to, well, the Owner of the People.’

”’My status, it’s really up to Darcy and the direction they’re going to go,” Miller said, referring to general manager Darcy Regier. ”It’s definitely signs of a little bit of a shift in the long-term plan, so I don’t know. … Ultimately, it’s not going to be up to me. We’ll see.”’

‘Much of what Miller has been doing lately has been indicating that he feels he won’t be back. Miller said, “I think it starts to happen as things tend to happen in the NHL. As far as my status, it’s really up to Darcy and the direction they’re going to go so that’s a conversation we’re going to have to have and it’s a conversation that unfortunately I’m not going to share with you guys because it’s just going to be something that’s going to have to happen down the road.”‘